It's been a bizarre season. We started it in an awful fashion, picked up for a while in October and November and then looked odds on to finish second bottom before an incredible turnaround just before the split. As a result we go into our last game with a good chance of finishing seventh, which is just remarkable. There may be nothing to play for in terms of survival but finishing top of the bottom six would be an impressive achievement and also land us a much needed chunk of cash for next season.
There was a time this season when I thought Hearts would have no problem finishing above us, even with their 15 point penalty. They started off the campaign fairly well while we were stumbling from one disaster to another. I'm fairly sure at one stage they managed to half the deficit, but thankfully for us that was close as they got - partly because their form went as injuries and suspensions began to mount up but also because we finally picked up a bit of form. Had they not been docked 15 points at the start of the season they'd have been just a point behind us, which makes you wonder considering the rather different make-ups of the squads.
We have been fairly poor against the Jambos this season. Yes, our first win of the campaign came at Tynecastle and very welcome it was too. However, we only drew with them in December - despite cruising the first half - and then somehow managed to lose to them in January despite going a goal up inside the first minute. Hopefully the fact we've improved remarkably in the last month or so will give us a win over them, although they've also improved and have a huge backing as their fans see them in action in the Premiership for the last time for at least a year.
Tomorrow we can play a fun game of trying to work out who is leaving and who plans on hanging around for next season. There's plenty of folk out of contract so we won't be short of entertainment. It's almost certainly Kenny McLean's last game as he'll surely be off to England and hopefully he can sign off in style. His performances in the last few months are a huge part of why we've avoided the play-offs and he deserves his move down south. Conor Newton is likely to be off too, while the likes of Jim Goodwin, Paul McGowan, Darren McGregor, Gary Teale and David van Zanten probably won't know yet what is happening.
The same goes for the manager. You'd have thought with safety secured last weekend he'd already have been offered a new deal if he was staying but yesterday's statement from the board did nothing to end the uncertainty. If this is to be his last game it's a shame we don't know and can't give him a nice send off. It would be nice if a few of our youngsters got a game tomorrow - especially as the Hearts' team will be quite young and they wouldn't get bullied as much as if they were playing against any of the other bottom six sides.
Gary Locke has been working under pretty trying circumstances this season, as he is more than willing to remind us. Despite that, many people - not just Hearts fans - question whether they could and should be doing better. Yes, they have a team of kids but there have been comments that they keep making the same sort of mistakes that could easily be eradicated with a bit more training. Billy Brown might have leapt to Locke's defence on the radio a few months back but you do wonder if they'd have been doing a bit better had they had a more experienced manager in charge. It seems as if he is learning though as they have been flying along lately, while he did have them within seconds of back-to-back League Cup Final appearances.
Things could have been even worse for the Jambos - if that's possible - had it not been for the presence of Jamie MacDonald. The keeper is one of the few experienced players in the squad and has been terrific this season, earning them some points and ensuring a few defeats weren't even worse. Captain Danny Wilson (who I'm still annoyed Hearts were able to sign) has done reasonably well, but you can tell the likes of Jordan McGhee, Brad McKay and Kevin McHattie aren't really ready for regular first team football at the moment. Dylan McGowan is maybe a bit more developed but could probably have done with being broken into the team gradually rather than being thrown in.
Like McGowan, Jamie Hamill can play at the back or in midfield. He's one of the few experienced players they have and scored a screamer against us in December, but he'll be missing tomorrow as he has landed a ban for barging into Derek Adams. It's a shame as I'm sure a number of our fans would have liked the chance to thank him for that hilarious moment. Ryan Stevenson played in the League Cup semi-final after we quickly arranged a game (which we lost) so he could avoid a ban and he scored a fine hat-trick against Killie last week. Despite being skint, Hearts were somehow able to turn down an offer for Jason Holt earlier in the campaign and he is now back fit. He and Jamie Walker, who looks a fantastic prospect on the wing, have been the stars when they haven't been injured. Scott Robinson has finally forced his way into the team while Sam Nicholson was brought in during the season and has looked impressive. Callum Tapping is also a handy player, although seems to be the poorest of an admittedly extremely talented bunch of young midfielders.
While Hearts have been let down defensively at times they've also struggled due to the lack of a proper striker. They tried to keep John Sutton in the summer but he didn't take a wage cut, which wasn't a huge surprise considering how he'd been treated in is two years at Tynecastle. That's left Callum Paterson leading the way up front, even though he's probably a better defender than a striker. He's managed an impressive goal return considering the problems and has scored a fair amount in the last few weeks. However, he would probably be better in a proper front two, rather than relying on guys like Billy King, David Smith and Dale Carrick to offer support.
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